Browns, guard Wyatt Teller agree on blockbuster contract extension
Wyatt Teller is not the odd man out after all.
For those who thought Teller would hit free agency because Browns General Manager Andrew Berry cannot possibly afford to keep all of the franchise’s good, young players, think again.
A standout right guard, Teller and the Browns agreed Tuesday to a fouryear, $56.8 million contract extension, which includes $28 million guaranteed, a person familiar with the deal confirmed.
Teller, 26, had been scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent in March, but the new deal means the offensive lineman known for doling out punishing blocks in the running game will be under contract through the 2025 season.
With $14.2 million per year in new money, Teller will have the third-highest average annual salary among NFL guards, according to spotrac. com. Franchis-tagged right guard Brandon Scherff of the Washington Football Team leads the group at $18.036 million, and Kansas City Chiefs left guard Joe Thuney, an Alter High School graduate, is second at $16 million.
Teller, listed as 6-foot-4 and 314 pounds, has achieved his goal of proving himself as a viable long-term solution for the Browns, (5-4) who visit the New England Patriots (5-4) on Sunday.
“[I want to be] consistent and reliable at right guard for the foreseeable future,” Teller said in September 2020. “That’s always my dream. That’s the next step — to be that guy for a while. Obviously, I only have two years on my contract, but God willing I stay.”
Teller has had an amazing ascent with the Browns since former GM John Dorsey acquired him on Aug. 29, 2019, in a trade with the Buffalo Bills, who drafted Teller in the fifth round (No. 166 overall) in 2018 out of Virginia Tech.
Dorsey sent a pick in the fifth round and another in the sixth round of the 2020 NFL Draft to the Bills in exchange for Teller and a 2021 seventh-round choice.
Teller had started the final seven games of the 2018 season for the Bills and the final nine games of the 2019 season for the Browns before breaking out as an elite guard in 2020 under Bill Callahan, Cleveland’s noted offensive line coach.
Before the Browns entered training camp in 2020, Callahan said they didn’t know who their starting right guard would be. After Teller received the nod, he took full advantage of the opportunity.
Teller missed five games last season with calf and ankle injuries, but he was still voted second-team All Pro along with Browns left guard Joel Bitonio. The starting guard tandem played a significant role in the Browns’ offensive line establishing itself as one of the best units and helping the team make the playoffs for the first time since 2002 advance by beating the Steelers.